Frost River – Isle Royale bushcraft Backpack 730

Ok, Frost River with a history of about 250 years (“kind of”) of constructing packs does it quite likely as they did in the gold rush days. The backpack is constructed of heavy duty waxed 18oz canvas, leather from the sb foot tannery(this should ring the bell the famous Red Wing´s are made from leather from the same tannery) and rocksolid brass hardware.

My first thought when I received this backpack was “heavy” but not in a negative way. I rather carry 1 kg more of backpack with me than a piece of crap which gives me trouble be-cause its badly and lightweight constructed. (I lost a not properly attached waist belt buckle on a Lafuma backpack before I started a 10 days trip in Norway and a Vaude shoulderstrap buckle broke in the middle of Patagonia – one was about 60L and the other a 80L backpack – so no toys). I started to look for a bad construction or weak spots but could not find one, seams, material and hardware is bombproof. A Land Rover Defender has quite the same characteristics – loved for its proofed design and construction.

It took me probably about half a year to finally field-test the bag. It was packed with 20kg+ of camping equipment, food and drinks (Pernod and Redwine) and cloth. At the first 500m I had to move a hard piece of equipment because the backpack has no backplate construction. I rather packed the pack lazy 21th century not as I learned in the army. A bit later I had to adjust the shoulderstraps a bit and the rest of the 6 hour hike up to 2400m above sea level (1500m up the hill) went smoothly. The only little problem I had on the first day was the waist belt was too big for me since I only hiked with a Polo shirt, so i might punch another hole in the leather strap.

What I really liked about the backpack is it huge capacity to overload it. It is rated with about 45 Liter but due to the long straps I guess even about 60 Liters seem possible I would say. So it will be a perfect backpack for a quick overnight trip with lots of stuff packed in on a night on a bonfire or even a bigger hiking trip for up to 2 weeks. Albert mention a headstrap “Sherpa Style” for bigger trips – since the D-Rings are there to attach a device like this I will give it a try next time I carry a lot of weight in there.

What else can I tell you about the backpack, the images speak for themselves. Have a look of the nicely leather lined and very comfortable leather shoulder straps attached with 9 rivets!

Honestly I´m sure this backpack will outlast me and I do not see any reason to get rid of it. I will post my experience with this new friend over the years. Thanks again to AlbertDörp for making this great brand hassle free available to us. He works together with Frost River since 2006 and is the Distributer for them in Germany and most of Europe since 2008.

A direct link to the backpack he offers in his webshop @ Absolut Canoe is here: